New city centre housing development will help Cardiff’s housing crisis
We are delighted that Cardiff City Council have approved our plans to build a new housing development on the edge of Cardiff city centre. The site is located on the corner of Cowbridge Road East and Lower Cathedral Road, opposite the Westgate pub and close to the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and Sophia Gardens.
The approval follows two years of discussions with Cardiff City planners and other stakeholders to ensure the highest quality of design in a key location. This highly sustainable scheme will provide 81 social rented apartments and four commercial units. The scheme includes a first-floor roof garden for all residents to enjoy and most of the apartments will have private balconies.
The homes will incorporate high levels of insulation to increase thermal efficiency and reduce running costs for the residents. Instead of traditional gas boilers using fossil fuels the apartments will be fitted with solar photovoltaic panels on the roof to generate electricity which will help run the heating and hot water and keep energy costs low for residents. The hot water will be provided by air source heat pumps.
Given the city centre location with access to cycle lanes, bus stops and other public transport no car parking will be provided at the scheme to encourage residents to travel more sustainably. Every apartment will have an allocated cycle parking space.
The planning permission is subject to a Section 106 legal agreement. As part of that agreement, Wales and West Housing will also contribute £260,000 to the local authority to support community facilities, public open space and active travel and traffic management schemes in the area.
In granting permission at their August meeting, the planning committee members recognised the acute need for affordable housing in Cardiff and were positive about the scheme and its significance in meeting the demand in the area.
Cllr Abdul Sattar, councillor for Grangetown, said: “There is a definite need for this development in this area. We need more social housing in Grangetown, Riverside and Butetown.”
“Social housing is transformative to people’s lives, and we are desperately short of it in Cardiff. “
Chair of the committee, Cllr Ed Stubbs
There are currently more than 8,000 people waiting for affordable housing on Cardiff Council’s waiting list, with a significant number needing one-bedroom.
When completed the apartments will be let to people waiting for suitable housing on Cardiff Council’s housing register.
Jo Curson, Director of Development at Wales & West Housing, said: “This is an exciting project for us. We are thrilled that members of Cardiff Council’s planning committee voted unanimously in favour of the development.”
“We have spent the last two years consulting with the local authority to produce a scheme that will complement the area. The location is one of the key gateways to the city centre and being so close to the centre, it gives us the chance to build sustainable homes for the future. “
“We hope our development will play a small part in helping the desperate need for social housing in the city centre.”
Jo Curson, Director of Development at Wales & West Housing
“The next step is to identify a contractor who shares our commitment to quality and hope to be on site next year.”